


Third Time's a Charm

by Dreamallday



Category: Mad Men
Genre: F/M, Post-Finale
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-31
Updated: 2016-03-22
Packaged: 2018-04-02 06:14:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 6,611
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4049275
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dreamallday/pseuds/Dreamallday
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Peggy and Stan kissed three times, the third time it finally stuck.  Here is an examination of some of the other threes in their lives.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Three Minutes

**Author's Note:**

> We only got a few minutes of Peggy/Stan magic in the finale. So I chose to explore a few more moments that might have been.

Peggy’s heart was pounding. Stan’s arms were wrapped around her so tightly she knew she’d be bruised tomorrow, but it wasn’t nearly close enough. Stan seemed surprisingly calm. He’d expended all his adrenaline dropping the bomb over the phone and running to her office. Every moment between them had been packed with tension; finally having her was a slow unwinding. Like unfolding your legs and stretching after a long car ride.

The door was open, but neither cared. No one would be looking for them here. Stan running down the hall had barely made a blip on the radar.

He worked his lips from her mouth, to her ear and down her neck. "God,Peggy, I thought...I thought you were going to shoot me down." Her fingers clenched in his hair and his beard rasped against her cheek when he returned to her lips. Her pulse roared in her ears and she only knew he was breathing because she could feel it against her chest. 

Peggy broke the kiss when she was close to hyperventilation. Her chest heaved so deeply Stan was forced to release her. His hands cupped her face as she gulped in air, “calm down, shhh, shhh, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing, absolutely nothing. I pushed this so far back in my mind, when it rushed forward it just…overwhelmed me.” She rested her head against his breastbone taking a few inches of space to calm herself.

“I’m sorry, I probably should have saved it for one of our late night calls.” His expression didn't match his apologetic tone. His eyes were hungry and searching.

Peggy shook her head , smile bright and open, “It was the right time. This time it was _finally _the perfect time.” His lips pressed tenderly against hers.__


	2. Three Hours

Peggy and Stan had very little time to enjoy the new aspects of their relationship that first afternoon. They were forced to quickly hurry down the hall for the 3:00 pm status meeting. When they arrived in McCann’s massive conference room only two seats remained. Two seats right across from one another. Stan sat beside Ted, his back to the windows. Peggy was squished between two of the oafs from McCann’s account team. 

Stan listened inattentively to the list of accounts while he observed the woman opposite him. Her face was flushed, her lipstick gone; he discreetly touched his mouth to check for evidence of its whereabouts. He was almost certain he could see the flutter of her heartbeat beneath her dress. Peggy’s eyes remained resolutely focused on the speaker, but she unconsciously touched her throat as if to check her pulse. He wondered if she was wringing her hands beneath the table, or clenching her thighs together. From his viewpoint she appeared unnaturally still. When the meeting was called to an end Peggy leapt up as if bitten.

Stan came around and met her in the doorway, he ushered her through with a hand at her back and felt her spine stiffen. Peggy shot him a look before heading to her office. Stan closed the door behind him and leaned against it, arms crossed waiting for a patented Peggy Olson freak-out. Instead, she uncrossed his arms and leaned flush against his body to draw his lips down to hers. “We can’t sit across from each other at meetings anymore, I have no idea what happened in there.”

Stan smiled triumphantly, “You seemed pretty focused, are you telling me that one little kiss from me managed to scramble the brain of the great Margaret Olson?”

“It was a lot more than a little kiss.” 

With a grin, Stan lifted her right out of her shoes and carried her to the sofa, sitting heavily with her in his lap. Lips fused together, Stan’s fingers crept up her thigh. The weight of her in his lap was so achingly perfect he could barely breath. 

Peggy unbuttoned his shirt to get to his throat. He grappled with her panty hose before catching the seam and tearing roughly. One hand held her to his chest while the other investigated the warmth between her legs. Peggy’s voice broke on a sob before she gasped out, “wait, wait.”

Stan immediately pulled back and settled his hand at her waist, “You okay?”

Peggy nodded, panting “We can’t do this here. Can we leave now?”

Peggy had never seen the man look so smug, and when the man in question is Stan Rizzo, that’s saying a lot. “Can’t wait to get me home, can you,”

Peggy’s hands drifted from his beard, along his broad chest to play at his belt, “We can wait if you’d like.”

“Meet me at the elevator in two minutes,” Stan deposited her on the couch as he rushed out to collect his things, he could hear her laughter follow him down the hall.

The cab ride was mercifully short. Stan fumbled with the keys and nearly tripped on his way up the two flights to his apartment. Peggy’s giggles helped to break the tension, and by the time they got inside the moment was no longer sharp. 

Stan hung up their coats and slid his arms around her waist, “I know I really put you on the spot, but you did say you loved me right?”

“Yeah,” Peggy’s hands twined in his thick locks, “you remember when you said there’s more to life than work?” He nodded. “I thought ‘He must be crazy, I have everything I want right here. I’m intellectually stimulated, I have an outlet for my ideas, new challenges everyday and Stan. What else do I need?’ And even then I didn’t realize.”

“Yeah well emotional maturity has never been your strong suit.”

“Shut up and kiss me.”

The smile that broke across his face was more euphoric than smug and Peggy had never seen anything so beautiful. Stan lifted her easily and headed to the bedroom.

Undressing was nearly impossible. Every time they got a button undone or a zipper down they’d become distracted by a new patch of skin and forgot what they were doing. Finally, when the pressure behind his fly became too immense, Stan pinned her to the bed and stripped off everything between their skin and the sheets.

Stan smirked as Peggy unabashedly examined him, “No jokes this time?”

Peggy’s hands wandered down his chest to wrap around his cock, “It’s not so funny this time.”

Stan groaned and pulled her atop him, “God, you really had my number that night, “ his fingers slid through her folds and she gasped. “Smuggest bitch in the world,” he circled her clit sinking two thick fingers inside her, “you were unbelievably sexy then but I had no idea how fucking bad I’d want you once I really knew you.”  
Peggy writhed as he rolled her underneath him. He dropped back to avoid her touch and gave her a lascivious smile, “Patience Peg, I have years of dirty fantasies to fulfill before I let you distract me.”

“Do any of the fantasies involve touching me? Because we should explore those.”

“Oh there’s plenty more than touching. For instance, let me demonstrate why women don’t really hate the beard,” his grin was absolutely filthy as he crawled down her body and lifted her legs over his shoulders. One of his favorite fantasies had always been a do-over of that night at the Waldorf. In his fantasy, he crawled under the table and went down on her while she typed up copy for Vicks. When he got her screaming out his name he’d resurface to find all her typing was just gibberish.

She wasn’t screaming, but her breath stuttered out his name in an unbroken stream while her hands carded through his hair. Her thighs tensed, he could feel her pulse against his tongue as her back bowed and she cried out.

She collapsed back on the bed, decimated and panting, “you win, I love the beard.” She reached out and pulled him back to her, kissing her flavor from his lips until he twitched against her leg.

“Peggy I need-“

Peggy clumsily climbed into his lap and slid down on him with a relieved groan. Stan wrapped his arms low around her hips and bent her back to reach her breasts. His pace was agonizingly slow, fucking her to the rhythm of a slow ballad and not the crash of drums and bass she expected.

“Stan please, God, love you,” the words crashed through his body and he pounded into her until they both came with a shout.

Peggy stayed in his lap as he slipped from her body, “should I move?”

“Never,” Stan reclined in bed keeping her close. “Should we get some dinner?”

She rested her head on her hands, folded across his chest, “would we have to get up?”

“Probably.”

“Lets skip it, “ Stan nodded and reached into the nightstand to pull out a joint and his lighter. He held it to her lips and let her take the first toke. “Think we can do this in your office?”

“Probably not naked.”

Stan inhaled and shook his head sadly, “Damn, so I guess it’s back to just _picturing _you naked when we’re at work.”__

“But now the memories will be fresh.”

His hands rubbed down her back, “How fresh are we talking here?”

“Well, we both have to shower tomorrow.”


	3. Three Days

Stan liked his job, he really did. He was serious when he told Peggy he was content just to be good at his job. But he missed SCDP, everyone at McCann was so uptight. The women acted like an underground rebel force, meeting in secret bunkers and trying to stay off the radar. The men were mostly assholes. Stan cringed when he heard them joking in the halls. Once upon a time he was the kind of guy that would have fit right in here, if it hadn’t been for Peggy. She made it impossible to carry on the way he was. It’s hard to be a macho jerk when a woman is smacking you down at every turn and bringing out your best work in the process.

But now, for the first time since SCDP was eaten up, he loved his job again. From day one, the McCann group decided that Peggy and he operate as a unit. It worked out well, the men at McCann couldn’t handle being eclipsed by a woman like her and he doesn’t have to put up with their macho bullshit. They work on nearly every campaign together now. They still argue and snipe at each other but now the sexual tension is a promise rather than a tease.

They are brand new; the past two days have been a long, extended foreplay. He takes great pleasure in winding her up. And she seems determined to light the fire and send him back to his shared office to simmer. And at 5:00 PM they meet downstairs to run home together. Peggy returned to her apartment Wednesday and Thursday nights to allow her to get ready for work the next day, which put a damper on his fantasies. He wants a whole day and night uninterrupted and now he’s finally getting it. Thursday night he stops her at the door, “Bring clothes to work tomorrow.”

“What?”

“Come home with me tomorrow, stay the weekend. Bring whatever you need.”

Peggy curls her arms around his neck, “So what do I get for my troubles?”

The look in his eyes is predatory, he can see the delicate shiver as she meets his gaze, “I can offer you excellent food, a very comfortable bed, and a promise to tend to each and every itch you want scratched.”

Her hands settle on his belt, “I’ll pack a bag. Buy half and half for my coffee?”

“You got it, Chief.”

 

Peggy was amazed at how easy it was. They had the best of both worlds. Five years of friendship made them immune to each other’s annoying habits. Stan’s incessant pencil tapping no longer even registered in Peggy’s ears. But touching was still novel. Their fingers craved one another. In three days Stan had not left a room without trailing a hand along some part of Peggy’s body. 

She was proud of herself for not backing off. Emotional intimacy has never been her strong point and she and Stan were already so involved in each other’s lives. But, despite her history of avoidance, all she wanted was to be closer to him. That’s why she packed a full week of clothes before she left for work Friday morning.

He grunted in faux annoyance as he carried her bag up the stairs of his building that evening, “Jesus Peg, you’re 5’3” how can your clothes weigh this much?”

“Not all of us can just roll out of bed and pull something out of the hamper. Women need a lot of equipment to look like this.”

Stan ran a hand up the back of her thigh under her skirt, “I’ve seen you without all the equipment, there’s nothing better.”

“Cheap flattery. “

“That was a pitch, Ms. Olson. I’m trying to sell you on an entire weekend without any of the items in that bag,” he unbuttoned her dress and stroked the silky slip beneath. 

Peggy stepped out of her dress and slip, and stripped down with little fan fare, “So you really are a nudist, huh.”

“As long as you’re around, you bet I am,” he slung her over one shoulder and hurried quickly to the bedroom to the soundtrack of her laughter.

Hours later, Peggy sat on the counter wearing one of Stan’s T-shirts while he cooked dinner. It seemed complicated; she’d never seen anyone make tomato sauce from scratch. Stan talked her through the steps in between work stories and general chatter. 

“I wish we’d gotten together back at SCDP, it would have been more fun sneaking around the office over there than at McCann. They’re so…corporate.”

Peggy laughed and swallowed the last of her pasta. “Yeah we’ll probably just receive a memo on inter-office dating policies when someone figures it out.”

Stan smiled, “Not as entertaining as a Joan Harris glare or Roger’s inappropriate innuendos. Although, I think Ted already figured it out.”

Peggy choked on her wine, “What? What makes you think that?”

“He’s been giving me the strangest looks. This morning he was watching me when I left your office. He looked a little irritated, I didn’t think he’d be such a stickler for office decorum.”

“He’s not.” Peggy took a deep breath and reminded herself _you wanted to be closer _, “He wasn’t a stickler when he was the guy I was seeing at the office.”__

Stan stopped dead, “What? When?”

“Not long after I started at CGC. It didn’t last long before he decided he couldn’t do that to his wife. Then he decided to escape to California.”

“Oh.”

“I’m sorry. I guess I should have told you earlier.”

“Peg, you don’t need to apologize to me. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“But I did. Every relationship I ever had before this was wrong. I slept with a married man. I got pregnant at 20 by a guy who was engaged to another girl. I accidently stabbed my last boyfriend in the stomach.”

“Peggy-“

“My mother thinks I’m a whore, a totally lost cause. And she doesn’t even know half of this. I can’t even imagine, if she knew about Ted or-“ he can see her red cheeks peaking out from between the hands covering her face.

“Peggy, stop it, “ he pulled her hands from her face and held them tightly with one hand. She wasn’t crying, but he didn’t think he could handle it if she started.

“I guess I didn’t want to tell you, but it would be worse to have you find out from someone else. And, in the interest of being honest, Pete was the guy, the father of..”

“Peggy? What are you doing?”

“It’s different for guys you know. You can pick up anyone and no one will judge you and you don’t have to worry. Women whose names you don’t even know. But if a woman goes home with a stranger in a bar she has to worry that he might be a disciple of Charles Manson or something. So you date guys you know and then you’re forced to sit at your boyfriend’s kitchen table and confess that he knows most of the men you’ve ever slept with.”

Stan pulled her over to sit in his lap, “You’re right. I never thought about what its like for you girls. Jesus, I never thought about it like that at all. I’m a pretty big guy; the girls I picked up were taking a huge gamble on me. God, that must be terrifying. I’m glad you only dated guys you knew.”

“You’re not…”

“Not what? Upset?”

“Or disappointed or-

“Not my style. You dated people and so did I. Nothing’s going to change that. If Ted has a problem with it he can speak to me like a man. And Pete is really…?”

“Yeah. But he didn’t know about it until years after I gave the baby up. He and I are totally past it, but we don’t ever discuss the baby.”

“Should we talk about my history?”

“Did you sleep with anyone I know, other than Elaine and Gleason’s daughter?”

“How do you know about _her _?”__

“After we talked about your cousin I went back to check on you, I saw you two in the lounge.”

“You _saw _that?”__

“Yeah.”

“Uh, sorry.”

“If I don’t have to apologize for Ted, you don’t have to apologize for her.”

“Maybe, but I never had to see it.”

“True. But there’s also little chance that either of us will bump into her again. You see Ted every day.” 

“Well, if he has figured it out, it will be more uncomfortable for him than for me, I got the girl.”

Peggy rested her head in the curve of his neck, “You did and you always will. “  
Stan pulled her back to kiss her lips and smiled brightly, “Does that mean you’re gonna do the dishes?”

He held in his groan when she playfully socked him in the gut, but she really had a hell of an arm _owwww _.__


	4. Three Weeks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Inspired by "When the Evening Comes, We smile" by lovelee and "How To Survive Being Struck by Lightning" by adreadfulidea.

If Stan was honest, he was pretty proud that they made it three weeks before the first fight. It was bound to happen; they were still the same people they'd always been. Miraculously, it's not about work. They bicker about work often, but their first real barnburner is about, of all things, Ginsberg.

Stan is at Peggy's apartment the weekend of his monthly pilgrimage to the hospital. He digs out his gloves and scarf before asking (for the _third _time) if she plans to accompany him.__

__"Stan, my answer isn't going to change just because you keep asking."_ _

__"He'd love to see you. He misses you and frankly I could use some reinforcements over there."_ _

__Peggy grits her teeth with such force he can almost hear them shift in her jaw. "I told you, I don't want to see him _there _. I can't do it."___ _

____"You think it's a fucking picnic for me," Stan growls, "surrounded by a bunch of schizos looped out on lithium?" Peggy flinches as his volume rises and her face burns at his words._ _ _ _

____"Nobody is forcing you to go," she replies petulantly._ _ _ _

____"No, I go because he's my friend and that means something to **me **."****___ _

______Peggy feels her temperature rising sharply, "Don't be such a self-righteous prick! You don't have the right to judge my friendship with Michael!"_ _ _ _ _ _

______"What friendship," he bellows. "You're not much of a friend to either of us right now are you?"_ _ _ _ _ _

______Her jaw trembled, "FINE," she spit out, "let me get my coat." The subway ride to Bellevue is tense. He could tell Peggy was absolutely _fuming _. She refused to even look at him. He keeps his mouth shut, for Ginsberg's sake, lest he unleash the dragon before they arrive. By the time they breach the first security door Peggy looks positively ill. Her face is flushed and she appears to be sweating.___ _ _ _ _ _

________Ginsberg lights up when he sees her there but refrains from trying to hug her. Stan gives him the standard manly one-armed hug that always makes the smaller man squirm a bit. Peggy gives him tremulous smile and reaches out to take his hand. "You look good. You look...like you."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"A little more me everyday," he replies with a rueful smile._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Peggy nods, but seizes up at the tormented cry of another resident. Her heart begins to pound and the previous high color of her face drains away in an instant. She slides her clammy hand from Ginsberg's grip, "I'm sorry, I can- I need-" at that she turns on her heel and flees before Stan can even rise from his seat. Ginsberg, small and spry, leaps over a chair to catch her at the nurses station._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Stan starts forward but only makes it a few steps before Ginsberg waves him off. Their voices are too low to hear and he can only see their faces in profile. After a few moments Peggy lurches forward to hug him, tightly, before kissing his cheek and taking off through the security doors._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Ginsberg returns to the sofa, tired but seemingly lighter. "Ginzo? What the hell just happened?"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"She accepted my apology. Said it wasn't even necessary. All this time, I thought she was avoiding me because she was scared of me. But it's not me, it's just this place, the memories. If I had known I wouldn't have asked her to come. You should have told me."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"Told you what? What the fuck are you taking about?"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"That she-Oh my God, you don't know."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Now Stan was starting to sweat, "Don't know what? Tell me! I obviously fucked this up, help me out man!"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Ginsberg drew in a ragged breath, hoping he wasn't about to lose the trust of one of his only friends. "She was in a place, like this, for a few months a couple years back. She said she had _trouble coping _. I should have left well enough alone, she already goes out of her way for me."___ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________"What do you mean?"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________"Every month, when you come here, she picks up something at the bakery and visits my Pop."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________"Oh." Stan is starting to worry that the blood rushing through his ears is a sign of an impending stroke, "I, Uh, sort of guilted her into this. Goddamnit, I gave her shit about being a bad friend. Oh my God."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________"Go! Go fix it! NOW! If you lose her you'll end up here in a straight jacket. And I won't come back to visit your dumb ass!"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________Stan hoped to find her sitting on the hospital steps, but she was long gone. There's a tight feeling in his chest the whole ride back to her place. He tries to plan his apology but his mind can't get past the image of Peggy living in one of those cold sterile rooms._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________He lets himself in with his key and listens for movement. He follows the steady patter of water to the bathroom only to find a locked door. He takes a seat, facing the bathroom door, to wait her out. When she finally emerges, the skin revealed by her robe is painfully red, "Peg..."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________"I don't want to talk Stan," she blows by him to fill a glass of water in the kitchen._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________"But I-"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________"No. You got your way, I went. You don't get to control how I deal with it."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________His heart thumps painfully, "Peggy, I'm so sorry. I had no idea. If I had known I never would have-"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________"Why did it matter? Why is it only my decision if you approve of the reason? That was the worst part of being in one of those places. You don't ever get to make yur own decisions. Everyone thinks they understand you better than you understand yourself. I'm going to bed, you should leave."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________"No, Peg, come on."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________"Go home Stan, I don't want to see you now," her fingers tremble as she tries to light her cigarette._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________After trekking home in the cold dark he lays down for two hours, unable to close his eyes without seeing her ashen face. He walks around her block several times before letting himself back in around midnight. Her back is to him when he climbs in beside her. He doesn't touch her; he can tell she's awake. "I thought I told you to go home."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________"I came back. Will you let me apologize now?"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________"You apologized already."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________"Peggy, please look at me." His voice cracks painfully, "talk to me." She rolls over to face him, eyes damp._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________"I was such an ass. You were right. It wasn't my choice. I never should have forced you into it. I'm so sorry, Peg. Have I-did I ruin this?"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________She shakes her head, "I should have just told you. But I-" she breaks off with a grimace._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________"But what? Why didn't you?"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________"I was ashamed. I was one of those schizos on lithium. I just couldn't bear to say it. It was after I gave up the baby. I just needed-" she breaks off with a sob._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________Stan's resolve disappears and he pulls her into his arms. "You don't have to explain. I can't even imagine what that does to a person. I shouldn't have said that about the patients."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________"Okay," her voice is small and she still does not meet his gaze._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________"Hey," he lifts her chin to see her eyes, "I love you Peggy. I'm an idiot, and my foot is perpetually stuck in my mouth, but I love you and nothing you tell me is ever going to change that. Do you understand?"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________"Yeah. Can we go to sleep now? I want this day to be over."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________"Of course, can I stay?"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________"You can always stay. But next time I'm going to make you sleep on the couch."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________"So noted. Do you really visit Ginzo's dad every month?"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________"Yeah, he told me he'd make an honest woman of me, so keep that in mind the next time you tick me off."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________"Yes, dear."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _


	5. Three Months

They hadn’t officially moved in together. But they end up spending most nights at her place, though they both prefer his apartment. She’s a landlord, and she has to be there for her tenants. He doesn’t mind it much; until the night he comes home to find the front window covered by cardboard and Peggy sitting on the living room floor in a sea of paperwork. 

“Peggy, what happened to the window?” He leans down to kiss the top of her bent head.

“Gunshots. Apparently someone knocked off the liquor store on the corner.”

His head jerks up and he drops to the floor to grab her by the shoulders, “What? Peg! Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, I was in the kitchen at the time. I’m just looking for the old invoice from the window guy so I can get him out here to fix it.” He was surprised to hear resignation in her voice instead of panic.

“What happened last time?”

“Someone threw a brick through it.”

“Jesus, Peg, why don’t you just sell this place?”

“She sighed deeply, “I may hate this place, but I love owning my own home. I couldn’t go back to some tiny apartment with a shitty landlord.”

“You hate being a landlord don’t you?”

Peggy nodded, “Yes, especially since Julio moved out. But there’s no way I can afford a place this big without tenants.”

Stan smiled, “But **we** could afford a place, together.”

“Really? You want to move in with me?” 

Her shocked expression drew a chuckle from his throat, “Has it escaped your notice that almost everything I own is already here?" 

Peggy eyed her apartment as if viewing it for the first time, “huh." 

“So, what do you think?" 

“So, I’d sell this place and we’d pool our money for a new apartment, in a better neighborhood?” 

“Exactly, or we could even look for a townhouse or something. I’m sure I pull down a bigger salary than Abe. We could probably swing it if we find a fixer." 

“Abe didn’t put in.” 

“What?" 

“Abe didn’t contribute any money. I bought this place on my own." 

Stan’s eyes were wide, “Peggy, that’s amazing. If you could afford this place on one salary, just think of what we could get together. We could find a place with enough room for a studio and an office." 

Peggy beamed at the thought of her own office, “you’ve really thought about this. Lets do it! Now help me find the name of my realtor in all this mess.” 

Peggy put her place on the market and she and Stan scoured the real estate listings, with little success. Then, about a month later, Peggy is in the break room when she gets her first good lead. Two secretaries are fixing their coffee and chatting. 

_“Barbara, you should try to get the apartment across the hall from me, wouldn’t that be great!”_

_Barbara didn’t seem as enthusiastic, “My lease isn’t up for another four months, Lois. Besides my place is fine.”_

_“It’s fine now, but once the local hoodlums realize that building next door is vacant the whole place will be filled with squatters."_

_“Doesn’t the bank need to check on it after they foreclose?”_

_“Hell if I know. What happened to all the tenants?”_

_“There weren’t any. It was a private house. The old man died and his wife let the whole place go to seed. I think she’s in a home now.”_

_Lois shook her head before carrying her coffee out of the room, “What a shame."_

After a few discrete inquiries Peggy was in possession of the secretary’s address. She took a long lunch to check out the building next door to the girl’s apartment. She also made a stop at city hall to visit the department of buildings. When Stan stopped by at 5:00 she was giddy with anticipation. 

He quirked an eyebrow in her direction, ‘What’s wrong with you?” 

“Nothing’s wrong. I did it. I found it!” 

“Found what?” 

“Our new place! The bank owns it; I pulled the permits. It’s a legal one family with electrical and plumbing upgrades in the past five years.” 

“How’d you find this place?” 

Peggy gives him a long, slow kiss and grins, “Espionage.” 

She took Stan to see the outside before calling the bank for a tour. The interior was in need of some serious rehabilitation, but Stan assured her he could handle it. The bankers were skeptical of a female applicant footing half the bill ( _can this couple afford the house when she quits to have a baby?_ ) but they couldn’t really turn down the offer with two viable salaries to back it up. 

Stan had always been content to rent. Sitting at a table, with a bunch of suits, signing away a massive chunk of his savings was making him a bit twitchy. Peggy, on the other hand, couldn’t stop giggling. 

When the final line was initialed Stan looked over at the giddy woman beside him, “Seriously, did you smoke in the ladies room when I wasn’t looking?” 

Peggy shook her head and smiled smugly, “Nope. I think this is the first time…EVER…that I’m cool and collected and you’re the nervous wreck.” 

Stan scoffed, “I am not a nervous wreck.” 

Peggy turned the contract and it’s jittery signature around to face him, “then you must have had a seizure while signing these.” 

Stan shoved the papers away and wrapped his arms around her, “You have experience signing your money away. I’m a bohemian baby, we don’t usually own things.” His expression turned serious when he saw the soft look in her eyes, she so rarely allowed it to show. 

Peggy rested one hand over his heart and the other on his cheek. “It’s not the money. Last time my gut was telling me it was a terrible idea but I didn’t listen. This time I can’t wait. I **know** this is the right choice. I know we’re going to be happy there. I love you Stan.”


	6. Three Years

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The conclusion of Third Time's a Charm...Finally. My apologies for the delay.

“Stan?” Peggy should have known to check the studio first. In deference to her mother’s occasional visits Stan confined his smoking to the studio of the East side brownstone they’d lovingly restored. Though Mrs. Olson liked Stan (more than she liked her daughter, in Peggy’s opinion) she did have her suspicions about his _artistic nature_. 

“Hey babe,” Stan offered up the joint with a grin that crinkled around his eyes. Peggy waved him off and lay down atop him to snuggle into his chest. Years ago, when she first moved in with Abe, her mother had been highly critical of the idea. For months after she wondered if her mother was right, maybe her house with Abe didn’t feel like a home because they weren’t married. It had only taken a few weeks in the new house with Stan to realize she was wrong. 

Stan stubbed out the joint in his ashtray and wrapped his arms around her. “God, this was the longest day. By 2:00 I was having visions of sticking pencils in Ted’s eyes. By 5:00 I actually started throwing them at him.”

“I’m pregnant.”

The nice relaxing stretch that Stan was enjoying came to an abrupt halt. He tried to pull back to see Peggy’s face but she was holding him too tightly, “Peg?” He rolled them over to hover above her. “A baby? Really?”

“Yes. What do you think? I mean, is this okay?”

“Is this o- Peg, is there any part of you that thought I’d be upset about this?”

“Not upset, but maybe not happy either.”

Stan’s hand stroked her cheek and Peggy was stunned to see tears in his eyes, “Peggy, there has never been a moment that I’ve been happier than I am right now. We’re a team and we always have been. We’re going to be amazing at this. I guess the question is do **you** want to do this? “ 

“Yes,” Stan was startled by the steel in her voice. Peggy had always been wary of children, it was the one issue they’d never discussed. He never wanted to bring up memories of the child she’d given up. And, truth be told, he wanted her more than he wanted kids. “I’m absolutely terrified but I’m banking on the fact that you’ll be pretty damn good at this.”

“Well Chief, I’ll do my best to make you proud.”

“You always do Stan. There hasn’t been a single moment for the last three years when I’ve wanted to be anywhere else.”

“Marry me?”

Peggy clasped her fingers behind his neck and gazed into the eyes she’d been looking into for years, long before they ever fell in love, “I thought you were a no-good hippie who didn’t believe in marriage.”

“Not true, well, not all true. I don’t believe anyone _needs_ to get married. “

“So, why now?”

“Because I don’t want this baby to ever worry that our family is something temporary. Because I know it’s not. So, make an honest man out of me?”

“Yeah,” Peggy didn’t hesitate to lunge at Stan and plaster her mouth to his. “Now, lets go upstairs and anticipate our wedding vows.”

 

One month later Peggy and Stan exchanged vows in their living room in front of a justice of the peace and a handful of close friends. Ma Olson wasn’t thrilled by the choice of venue or the lack of wedding finery, but Peggy was mostly able to ignore that. At the end of the night, when the last guest had wished them well, Peggy and Stan collapsed into bed. 

“So Peggy Olson, wife and mother.”

“Yeah, you know half the people in that room thought you were crazy for marrying me, and that includes my mother and sister. You might be the only person in the world that thinks I’ll be good at this.”

“That’s not true. And it’s not a matter of you being good, or me being good. We’re good together, remember?” His hand is almost permanently plastered to her stomach these days. It’s sweet, if inconvenient when she’s trying to work or do the dishes.

And they were a perfect pair. Peggy worried constantly about the future. Would she have the same relationship with her baby that she had with her mother? Could she be a good parent and a creative director? Would she feel guilty every time she left for work?

Stan worried about the immediate issues. He stocked up on prenatal vitamins and began sketching plans for the nursery. He nagged her about long hours and excessive take out consumption until Peggy was certain that they’d have to drag the East River to find his body.

“Stan! I gave up cigarettes, pot and alcohol,” she growled from across the table, ‘if you don’t give me that cup of coffee you may not live to see the first contraction.”

“Come on Chief, it says you’re not supposed to.” 

“Staaaan, I have Coke, Whirlpool and Nabisco today! I need at least one cup. Do you want another Heinz fiasco?”

Stan scrubbed his beard with rough fingers and pulled her to sit on his lap, “Peg I could give a shit about Heinz or Coke or the whole fucking Fortune500 list. If it’s between the baby and this place I say tank the whole company.”

Peggy settled fully in his lap, resting her head against his chin and pulled his hand to her belly, “Feel that? That’s our baby. I promise, nothing will get in the way of meeting her in a few months.”

“Her?”

“Call it intuition.”

 

EPILOGUE: Three Months Old, 3:00 AM  
Peggy thought she understood sleep deprivation. For god sakes she worked for Don Draper for years. But a newborn was a whole different level of exhaustion. Peggy walked the baby around the coffee table trying desperately to calm her whimpering. “Shhh, shhh, come on sweetie, you must be tired by now.”  
Stan shuffled out of the bedroom rubbing his eyes like a  
little kid and hiking up his shorts, “still no luck?”

“No, but she stopped wailing.” Stan walked over and wrapped his arms around them, “my girls are having a bad night. Come here Miss Molly, lets give mommy’s arms a rest.”

Pins and needles stung her arms as Peggy gently passed their daughter over to Stan. Peggy envied him, as fast as Molly was growing Stan could still hold her with one arm. “Come on baby girl, let’s try to get some sleep.” He wrapped his free arm around his wife and guided her back to bed.

“You know experts discourage co-sleeping.”

Stan laid back on his side of the bed with the baby on his chest and patted the space next to him, “That may be true but they probably also discourage falling asleep standing up when you’re holding the baby. Come on Peggy, even if neither of us sleep, it’s so much more comfortable laying down.”  
Peggy’s eyes were already closed before her head hit the pillow, “I had a great idea for Pampers while I was rocking her”.

Stan shifted the baby to his other arm and leaned down to kiss his wife’s forehead, “It’ll keep for another 8 hours or so, Chief.”

Peggy yawned and buried her face in the pillows, “hmmm, right. Night Stan.”


End file.
